At the world's largest PV exhibition in Munich, Germany, this year Multi-Contact successfully continued the actions against illegal product copies.
Legal action was taken against two distributors and one manufacturer of counterfeit products directly onsite. With two companies, an outofcourt settlement was reached.
Illegal product copies deliberately mislead the customer. They cannot be recognized from the outside and bear a high safety risk for the unsuspecting buyer. Therefore, not only the production of counterfeits is prohibited in Germany, but also their distribution and exhibition. According to German law, Multi-Contact is obliged to take legal action against manufacturers and distributors of such copies. The two exhibitors confronted at the Intersolar claimed not to have been informed about this fact. After extensive discussions they reluctantly removed the MC4 copies as well as all related advertising material and posters from their stand.
One of the distributors could not be convinced and refused to comply. Consequently, all necessary information was collected, pictures were taken, and the case was brought to court. The judge obtained an injunction which was delivered by the bailiff. The responsible exhibitor had to remove the illegal copies from the stand immediately.
Statement on compatibility
There are rumours that connectors from other manufacturers have been tested and certified by TüV to be compatible with MC products. TüV, however, conducts tests only on the individual submitted products and in no way do they attest their compatibilty. To confirm such a compatability of products the manufacturers need to declare their consent. To date, Multi-Contact has not undergone any cooperation of this kind.
The UL certification is only valid for the mating of products of the same manufacturer:
"4. These devices have only been assessed for UL Recognition with specific types of mated connectors within their product family. They have not been assessed to operate with any other similar devices from any other manufacturer." (UL File QIIO2.E181720)
Multi-Contact does not take any responsibility for damages caused by unauthorized mating of MC connectors with other brands!
Legal action was taken against two distributors and one manufacturer of counterfeit products directly onsite. With two companies, an outofcourt settlement was reached.
Illegal product copies deliberately mislead the customer. They cannot be recognized from the outside and bear a high safety risk for the unsuspecting buyer. Therefore, not only the production of counterfeits is prohibited in Germany, but also their distribution and exhibition. According to German law, Multi-Contact is obliged to take legal action against manufacturers and distributors of such copies. The two exhibitors confronted at the Intersolar claimed not to have been informed about this fact. After extensive discussions they reluctantly removed the MC4 copies as well as all related advertising material and posters from their stand.
One of the distributors could not be convinced and refused to comply. Consequently, all necessary information was collected, pictures were taken, and the case was brought to court. The judge obtained an injunction which was delivered by the bailiff. The responsible exhibitor had to remove the illegal copies from the stand immediately.
Statement on compatibility
There are rumours that connectors from other manufacturers have been tested and certified by TüV to be compatible with MC products. TüV, however, conducts tests only on the individual submitted products and in no way do they attest their compatibilty. To confirm such a compatability of products the manufacturers need to declare their consent. To date, Multi-Contact has not undergone any cooperation of this kind.
The UL certification is only valid for the mating of products of the same manufacturer:
"4. These devices have only been assessed for UL Recognition with specific types of mated connectors within their product family. They have not been assessed to operate with any other similar devices from any other manufacturer." (UL File QIIO2.E181720)
Multi-Contact does not take any responsibility for damages caused by unauthorized mating of MC connectors with other brands!
